I get lots of questions about how to build a chicken coop, what chicken coops need, what the best chicken coop ideas are to keep your hens safe, and whether you should spend a lot of money on your coop (you definitely don’t need to).

So I put together the ultimate list of free chicken coop plans – and I’ve examined them to make sure the plans are actually free (and available) and that the homes are appropriate accommodations for your flock.

Before we get started, many of these chicken coops call for hardware cloth. I recommend 1/2-inch hardware cloth like this. It’s not to expensive and proven to keep chickens safe.

If you’re just getting started with chickens, you will also want to check out my #1 Amazon bestselling book, Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock. It costs less than a meal out, and has all the information you need to raise a healthy flock. Click here to check it out.

Free Chicken Coop Plans

Here are the free plans we developed for a coop on our farm. Our chicken coop design can house 4-5 hens. It took us just a few hours to put this coop together, and just a couple hundred dollars. Years later, it’s still housing chickens and works great!

I have detailed plans about how to build this coop here: Get the plans

My 6 Chicks’s Chicken Coop

This DIY chicken coop has removable roosts for easy cleaning, a large door for easy cleaning, electricity for the heated waterer, lights, and infrared camera. It also has good ventilation with windows, end vents, and roof vents. This is another one of those cute chicken houses you can make!

Farmer Kitty’s Chick Coop

Shed Chicken Coop

If you use these chicken coop plans, just make sure you put a door that you can fit through so you can clean it. This one can comfortably house 3 hens. It is 4-foot by 8-foot. Great nesting boxes so you get healthy eggs.

Hoop Coop

These DIY chicken coop plans are inexpensive and easy to build. LOVE how easy the cattle panels make building the frame a snap and they will last a long time and are sturdy. The 16 ft x 10 ft space can hold 16 hens.

Green Living Chicken Coop

The Feather Factory Chicken Coop

Attractive DIY plans that can house up to 5 birds. Great if you’re handy and want something good looking. Super cute and makes feeding your chickens easy since it’s tall enough for a person to stand in.

Tarter Farm Chicken Coop

Small Backyard DIY Chicken Coop

Sunrise Chicks Chicken Coop

This chicken coop is large and roomy and can fit at least 10 chickens. Looks great in any backyard, and the ramp would make it perfect as a duck house. Definitely one of the cute chicken houses you can make!

13 Hen DIY Chicken Coop

Coq au Vin

This DIY coop houses up to 6 chickens. The original cost about $1500. The 4×4 wood posts are painted and put on cinder blocks that the creator buried and leveled in gravel at ground level to reinforce the structure.

Baby Crib DIY Chicken Coop

A good idea for recycling a used baby crib that you can’t donate. The drop side comes down so you can gather eggs easily. Can house 2-3 hens in it. If you live in a cool area, you will need to think about how to insulate it in the winter so your flock stays warm and your chicken’s water doesn’t freeze easily.

City Farm Chicken Coop

Cute Trevor Made Chicken Coop

DIY plans for a coop large enough to house up to 12 chickens. Original builders raised the floor of the coop about 2 feet above the ground both to deter predators and to give the hens a shady place to hang out during warm weather. I just love all of these creative and cute chicken houses!

Red, White, and Blue Chicken Coop

The Eggcelsior

Geodesic Dome Chicken House

Houses 2-3 hens. Cheap to make, and the design means it will be warmer in winter than a traditional chicken coop. Raised off the ground so the chicken flock is safe from moisture creeping up from the ground – good for your hens’ lungs.

Pallet DIY Chicken Coop Plans

Pallet Palace

Totally made out of free pallets. This design is great for chicken coop builders who don’t want to frame walls, roofs, etc. It also saves you quite a bit of money on lumber costs for you can get pallets free!

Judy’s Free Pallet Chicken Coop

Another free pallet DIY chicken coop. The only things purchased were the vinyl siding and the roofing, and the nails and hinges. The builders saved about $1000 in lumber by using the free pallets. It also showcases one of the many clever backyard chicken run ideas mentioned in this DIY chicken coop list.

THE RUSTIC / WHIMSICAL COOP

Build Easy Chicken Coop

This chicken coop should comfortably house at least 4 hens,if your flock will free range. Has 4.5 sq ft of space per chicken, 3 nesting boxes, a door, ventilation, lots of light and a human-sized door.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Well we have had our guinea hogs for a month now and love them they are so sweet. But they always act like they are starving they get hay but don’t eat it they get a pail of mixed vegi every day like a mop pail full they also get hog grower 14 -5 cups mixed with 5 cups of cracked oats they have pasture squared 75 ft though its a little dry on grasses due to no rain we are watering sections and they still act like their hungry they weigh in at maybe 75 pds are we feeding them enough they still won’t eat there hay lol worried mama here I guess maybe they are just spoiled

Hello,
My DH built me two of the hoop houses that are listed above. Mine has adjustable wheels on the back so that I can move it around the yard on a daily basis. Mine were originally made with wood bases like the one shown but the wood deteriorates so he welded angle iron for a base as well as the door. It works fantastic. I agree with the hardware cloth. Don’t be fooled to think that chicken or turkey wire will be enough of a deterrent. Yes it will keep chickens in but it won’t keep out predators like wolves like we did. We lost a number of hens that night and now everything has hardware cloth on it.

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